The Nova Star ferry has been seized by U.S. marshals after a Portland company said it is owed nearly $200,000.

Portland Pilots Inc., filed a complaint last week with U.S. District Court in Portland. A judge ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to "arrest" the ship, the term used when U.S. marshals are ordered to take possession of a vessel that has significant assets.

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Portland Pilots, a company that provides pilot services to the Nova Star in Portland Harbor, had no comment on the federal complaint.

Other companies and vendors have recently come forward to complain that the Nova Star owes them money as well.

Mark Usinger, owner of A.L. Griffen Ship Chandlers in South Portland, told WMTW News 8 that Nova Star owes him nearly $13,000 for supplies and parts that he bought for the ship. Usinger has an unpaid invoice going back to last spring and said he hasn't received a dime.

Advertisers told WMTW News 8 that they are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars from Nova Star for television and radio ads that have already run.

Nova Star's local spokesman, Dennis Bailey, issued a statement Monday about the situation.

"The company will be settling all of its outstanding obligations, as it always has, in the next few weeks." Bailey said.

Usinger remains doubtful that he will ever see any money. He said that while the federal arrest of the vessel is a good thing, it is his understanding that Nova Star leases the vessel.

“I will believe it when I see the check, or I’ll believe it when I see the wire transfer,” Usinger said. “Up until then, it’s just promises, and I hope they’re not empty promises, but they do have these debts that they’ve created. People have provided them with services and supplies, and they do owe them money. We put faith in them, we put trust in them, and we’re counting on them to live up to that.”

The order came a day after the Nova Scotia government said it was giving the boot to Maine-based Nova Star Cruises and giving another shot to a company that previously operated the service between Portland and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia's Transportation Ministry announced Thursday that the government had entered into talks with Bay Ferries, which previously operated a high-speed catamaran on the route.